Santa Barbara County Judge Rodney Melville formally rejected, in papers released on Monday, the demand by Michael Jackson to have his $3M bail reduced to not more than $435K in his child molestation case.
Judge Melville ruled that Jackson's wealth justified the size of the bail amount.
Jackson's attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., believes that the size of the bail discriminates against Michael Jackson's wealth.
Additionally, he argued that Michael's charitable contributions, lack of criminal record and links with Santa Barbara County should be taken into consideration.
The prosecution fears that Jackson will do a "moonlight flit".
Judge Melville is reported to feel that the amount does not represent a problem to Jackson, and observed that Jackson has twice posted the $3 million bail "without objection or apparent difficulty".
It was reported that the judge also observed that the financial inducement to appear before the court was appropriate.
Although the trial of Michael Jackson is set to start on September the 13th, it is acknowledged that there may be difficulty in selecting the jury by this time.
The next hearing is scheduled for June 25 in Santa Maria.
It is going to be a long summer.
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